Fire Chapter 9: The Shallows
by Wren Sharpbeak
Summary: Following a dangerous path through uncharted waters in the hopes of avoiding the Fire Navy, the gang finds out the hard way why ships never sail there.
1. Ch 1 Travel

**Disclaimer:** the characters and places in the following work of fan-fiction are the intellectual property of Nickelodeon and, as such, they reserve the right to remove this story at their sole discretion.

**_This story is the __ninth__ in a series, so please read __the other eight before continuing!_**

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**Previously on Avatar**

"We can launch a small fleet of ships to distract the southern edge of the Fire Navy Blockade," How explained, moving pieces across the large map, "and give you some cover while you slip into the Fire Nation.

* * *

"You know, for educated royalty, you aren't very bright," Toph observed matter-of-factly. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zuko asked sharply, feeling slightly wounded by her sudden insult.

"Well, if you were smart you'd realize that Aang could still be your key to going home."

Zuko scowled. "I already told you that it wouldn't have made any difference if I had captured…" he began, but Toph interrupted.

"Not as your prisoner, you dolt, but as your ally."

* * *

"_I've always wondered why he didn't take the whole city back then," mused Toph, "He certainly could have."_

The barren tree over the grave provided no shelter, and rain mingled with the tears tracing a line down Iroh's careworn face.

"_Lu Ten died," Zuko explained softly._

* * *

"Why do you have so much trouble trusting him?" Aang asked, "He saved your life!" 

At this, Katara's expression softened into regret. "I know, I know," she admitted, "but…somehow it's easier for me to trust him with _my_ life that it is for me to trust him with _yours_."

* * *

"Why are you acting so over protective? Suki demanded gently. 

"It's so hard to lose someone you care about," replied Sokka, looking away. "Something happened at the North Pole, and I couldn't protect someone. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again.

* * *

"You are in a very precarious situation, Aang." The Guru warned gravely. "By being cut off from the reincarnation cycle, you have been made vulnerable in many ways." 

"What kind of ways?" Aang asked with a sinking feeling.

"If your body dies before the link can be reestablished, then the Avatar will cease to exist forever."

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**Fire: Chapter 9**

**The Shallows**

Golden light from the setting sun danced along wildly shifting waves, and a small trading vessel, Earth Kingdom in design, cut across the broken surface of the water heading into the sunset. Aang stood in a horse stance on the deck of the ship, with Iroh standing a distance away, hands tucked into his sleeves.

"Again," the old fire bender prompted.

Taking a deep breath, Aang began going through the set he was learning, being extra careful not let the flames he was producing come anywhere near the wooden rail of the deck. Iroh glanced over his shoulder as he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"Our pupil is coming along quite nicely, don't you think?" he asked casually as his nephew came up to stand beside him.

"You mean _your_ pupil," Zuko corrected placidly. Iroh merely threw a knowing look at the teen and let out a small 'harrumph.'

"I'm not the one who taught him the 'Wankan' kata," he remarked slyly, turning his attention back to Aang.

Zuko winced guiltily, certain he was about to get a lecture about having instructed the young Avatar on such an advanced technique. He hadn't planned on Aang showing it off before Zuko had a chance to tell his uncle he'd learned it, and had rather hoped Iroh would forget about it after the tragic incident with Jet. But much to his surprise, the old man complimented him instead.

"I'm impressed you managed it so quickly," he said mildly. "I recall it took me months to teach it to you properly."

"He's a better student than I ever was," Zuko responded uncomfortably.

Iroh glanced at his nephew shrewdly for a moment, uncertain how to take the comment. Was Zuko was merely being modest, or was he fretting about his own abilities as a fire bender? With the prince, it was always so hard to tell.

"Perhaps," was all he said.

They stood silently for a moment, watching Aang as he finished practicing his set and began running through it again. But when a low gurgle erupted shamelessly from Iroh's belly, he chuckled.

"All this teaching is working up an appetite it seems," patting his girth. "Could you do an old man a favor, Zuko, and get me something to eat from the galley? I can't leave my student alone now, can I?" he finished when he caught his nephew's amused glower.

"I'll be right back," Zuko reassured begrudgingly, and he headed below deck.

* * *

As Zuko made his way to the galley, he heard a muffled moan coming from one of the cabins he had just passed by. He stopped in the hallway, and then slowly walked backward, until he was able to peek into the half-open door. Another groan drifted through the dim light, and this time, he recognized the voice. 

"Toph?" he called tentatively pushing the door open a little further. "Are you okay?"

"Do I _look_ okay?" she snapped.

Opening the door all the way, he stepped into the room and studied her closely where she stood, half doubled over. Her face was a sickly green color, and tiny droplets of sweat rimmed her upper lip. She had one hand clutched to her stomach while the other was gripped so tightly around a support pole that her knuckles were completely white.

"Actually, you look terrible," he remarked matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, well so do you," the girl grumbled back petulantly.

Frowning self-consciously, his hand went instinctively to his scar before he remembered, seeing her sightless eyes, that she had no concept of what he looked like…what his scar looked like. To her, it was just words: meaningless banter directed more at her own blindness than anything else. Upon realizing this, his expression softened and, letting out a short sigh, he took a step forward to begin gently prying her hand off the beam.

"Come on," he coaxed, "you need to get out from below deck."

"No way," she said stubbornly, fighting his attempt to disengage her from her support. "I'm not about to go anywhere feeling like this. I can't even 'see' properly."

"Toph, you're seasick," he explained with uncharacteristic tenderness, "and the fresh air will do you some good. I promise."

Too weak to fight him, and suddenly feeling too sick to care, she finally let Zuko take her hand and guide her toward the door, noticing that he was very careful to stay behind her. In this manner, with one hand on her shoulder and the other on her elbow, the prince deftly led her through the hold and up to the main deck. They reached the railing just in time for her to retch over the side of the ship.

"I feel like I'm going to die," she groaned once she had finished.

"I'd tell you to look at the horizon," he offered hesitantly, "but that won't help you much."

"Ya _think_?"

"Just don't let Uncle Iroh know you're sick," cautioned Zuko mildly. "He'll make you drink some of his special seasickness tea," he finished glumly.

"Hey, a little medicine would be nice right about now," contended the girl feebly.

"Not this stuff," he insisted. "First of all, it tastes awful. And secondly," he added with an unusual tone of bitter annoyance, "it doesn't even work."

"You say that like you know from experience," she remarked dryly.

The two stood at the rail facing out toward the ocean, and neither of them noticed Katara come up behind them, silently listening to their conversation.

"I do," he admitted distantly, remembering it all far too clearly for his own liking. "I was sick my entire first month at sea….it was miserable."

"Yeah, well at least you could _see_," she argued halfheartedly, convinced that no one could possibly understand how horrid she felt.

"Actually, I couldn't," he confessed quietly, staring down at the water passing swiftly below them. "My face was still bandaged at the time. That's why it took a month to get my sea legs."

Confused at first, Toph let out a soft 'oh' when she remembered that Zuko's face had been badly burned by his father. Suddenly she felt horrible, and it had nothing to do with the churning in her stomach.

Katara stood in stunned silence at Zuko's words. It was the first time she had ever heard him mention anything about his past, and particularly about his life-altering injury. He always seemed so indifferent that she typically didn't give it much thought. But now, for the first time, she began to wonder if his gruffness was all just a means of pushing away the pain of the experience.

As the silence between her two companions lingered, she decided to break the uncomfortable moment and make her presence known.

"Is everything alright?" Katara asked casually as she stepped forward, not wanting either of them to know she'd been eavesdropping.

"Everything's _peachy_," growled Toph, thoroughly annoyed that she hadn't even sensed the water bender's approach.

"She's seasick," Zuko offered, with an unexpected tone of commiseration.

"Oh, Toph," Katara lamented sympathetically, finally realizing what had brought on the disconcerting conversation she'd just overheard, "Why didn't you say something sooner? We've been at sea for days now, you must be miserable!"

"It wasn't so bad at first," the blind girl explained bravely, making her seem all the more pitiful for her stalwart attitude in the face of her affliction, "I was just tired and not very hungry, but today…"

"That's probably because the seas were calmer before," Zuko reasoned, looking out over the choppy waters. "I think there may be a storm moving in."

"Oh, lovely," moaned the blind girl, slumping over the rail despondently.

"Here, let me see your wrists," requested the water bender, and she took Toph's unresisting hands. A moment later, she began pressing her thumbs into the other girl's forearms.

"What are you doing?" asked Toph, wincing a bit at the sudden pressure to her wrists.

"Believe it or not," Katara informed her knowledgeably, "seasickness is very common, even in the Water Tribes. But hitting these pressure points helps you get your sense of balance back and makes it go away."

"What, so your people walk around all day holding each other's hands?" Toph asked skeptically, sounding much more like her usual self already.

"No," she replied patiently, "we use special wrist cuffs that keep pressure on the arms. I'm sure I can rig you up a pair, but I'll need to find some small shells or pebbles…"

Her voice trailed off as she glanced around the deck, as if expecting to find what she needed, and naturally coming up empty. Zuko glanced around as well, slightly bemused that she would bother searching for stones and shells on a ship. Looking back at Katara, he tilted his head to one side.

"Would these work?" he wondered aloud, reaching over Toph's head to touch one of the tiny beads threaded in Katara's hair.

Her brow furrowed as she reached up to where his hand was, but upon feeling the bead under his fingertips, she gasped.

"You know, I think they might!" Katara exclaimed brightly.

Unfortunately, Toph's queasiness returned the instant Katara let go of her wrist, and the young earth bender swayed unsteadily on her feet. Seeing this, the older girl quickly grabbed her arm again.

"Come on, Toph," she said encouragingly, "let's get you fixed up."

Suddenly, however, Katara was presented with a slight problem, and she looked over her shoulder, then back to Toph with a perplexed frown. Since both hands were occupied with the task of holding Toph's wrists, the water bender would now be forced to navigate around the ship while facing the wrong way.

But just as she was about to take an awkward step backward, Zuko took one of Toph's arms and moved his fingers onto the pressure point, pushing Katara's aside. The water bender beamed at him gratefully, and together they led the ailing girl back down to her cabin.

Iroh smiled as he watched them from the other side of the deck, not minding at all that Zuko never brought him anything to eat. Casually looking up at the sky, he noticed dark clouds gathering on the horizon and, feeling another rumble in his gut, he held up a hand for Aang to cease his bending.

"I think that's enough for today," he suggested, "why don't we go find something to eat?"

"Oh good," Aang replied happily and he dropped from his stance. "I'm starving!"

Iroh chuckled in return and, sparing one last glance at the ominous sunset, he followed Aang down below deck.

* * *

**Author's note:** From this point on to the end of the series, I'm going to be very dependant on reader feedback. Not only will several of the main characters be making some pronounced personality changes, I'm also moving into areas the show has not yet touched on and will mostly likely be drastically different from the real season three. So I want to be sure that nothing gets too out of whack. 

So please (_please_) leave reviews and let me know what things you feel are working in the story (plot, geography, character development, action…whatever) and what things are not.


	2. Ch 2 Direction

Much to everyone's relief, the storm had blown over quickly, and Sokka stood on the aft deck, gazing up at the sky. The moon had waned to a mere sliver in the darkness, cutting a graceful curve through the stars. As he listened to the rhythmic splashing of the paddle wheels that propelled the ship, he turned over and over in his hand a single golden fan, occasionally opening it and gently folding it shut again.

Slow steady footsteps thumped softly along the deck, but Sokka paid them no mind until they stopped just beside him.

"The storm has left a beautiful evening in its wake," Iroh remarked casually. The young warrior only nodded in reply. Following his gaze to the moon, Iroh added softly, "She looks lovely tonight."

Sokka glanced uncertainly at the old fire bender who had witnessed Yue's sacrifice, before staring back up at moon as he answered.

"She always does."

Iroh's eyes then fell to the fan that Sokka worried in his grasp, and his heart ached for him. The retired general knew all too well the feeling of leaving behind a woman he loved, entrusting her to the care of others, uncertain if they'd ever be reunited. And in Iroh's case, they hadn't.

Memories played quickly behind Iroh's eyes: his lovely wife, her belly full with the child, _his_ child, which she would soon bear as she kissed him one last time before he left to wage war abroad; the teacup falling slowly from his grasp to shatter on the ground when he received the fateful and devastating letter; going home, not to his beloved's arms, but to the squalling babe that was all he had left to remember her by.

"Suki will be safe in Omashu," Iroh assured Sokka gently. "King Bumi and Yaozu will not let any harm come to those in the city."

"I know," answered the young man quietly. "But I still can't shake the feeling that I'm never going to see her again."

"I'm sure she has the same fear," the old man stated knowingly, gazing out at the water. "After all, your path is far more dangerous than hers."

At this, Sokka stopped fiddling with the fan and stared at Iroh in shock. He'd never even considered how Suki felt about him leaving her behind. But now, in his mind, he could see her; standing on one of the many balconies that overlooked the tiered city of Omashu, staring up at the same moon, restlessly fidgeting with the lonely twin of the object he himself now held. Frowning, he looked back down at the fan.

"I didn't think about that, actually," he admitted slowly. Suddenly feeling guilty, he looked at Iroh with a stricken expression. "I guess that's kind of selfish of me, huh?"

"Quite the opposite," Iroh answered sagely, glancing back up at the moon. "There is nothing selfish about trying to keep safe the ones you care about…even if it means risking your own life." He looked at the young man meaningfully as he added, "That's what love is all about."

"Yeah," agreed Sokka softly, looking back up at the moon as well with a suddenly comprehending sense of wonder. "Yeah, I guess it is."

* * *

On the other end of the ship, gazing forward rather than backward, Aang leaned against the rail, absently tugging on his pet lemur's long silky tail. Momo chattered and chirped as he searched inquisitively through the air bender's fuzzy crop of dark hair, apparently trying to find the rest of the blue tattoo that he was certain still had to be under there somewhere. 

"I think your hair is confusing him," Katara said humorously as she came up beside her friend, reaching over to ruffle it playfully.

"It's definitely different," Aang conceded, but without his usually cheerful demeanor.

A long silence ensued, and for the first time since the two had known each other, it was an uncomfortable one, filled with doubts that neither of them could utter. At last, Aang spoke up, but despite the distant and thoughtful tone of his voice, his question seemed harsh and abrupt.

"Am I a master yet?"

Katara blinked a bit in surprise. "What?"

"Have I mastered water bending yet?" he clarified more confidently, turning to look at her with a disquieting sense of resolve.

"Well, I…" she hesitated, not liking the question any more than the manner in which he was asking it. "I don't really have anything left to teach you. So…" Her brow furrowed a bit and she lingered over the answer a moment longer before stating firmly, "Yes. You're a master."

Aang nodded decisively as he looked back out at the starlight shimmering on the water.

"Toph said the same thing," he announced soberly.

"Really?" remarked Katara, obviously taken aback. She didn't think it possible for Toph to admit that she had nothing left to teach Aang. But the water bender didn't disagree; Aang's bending was becoming frighteningly powerful.

"Yeah."

Another weighty pause fell between them, and this time even Momo was subdued by the seriousness of his fellow companions as he sat on the rail between them. Again, Aang broke the stillness, his voice still pensive, but tender as well.

"You, me, Sokka, and Toph…We've been through a lot together, haven't we?"

"Yes," the water bender replied softly. "Yes, we have."

"And…through everything that's happened," he continued shyly, "you've always been the one who was there for me; encouraging me and helping me find my way, helping me become the Avatar I was destined to be. Because of you, I think I'm finally ready to do what I need to do."

"That's what friends are for," she said modestly, with the faintest hint of a blush.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and he held her gaze with a clear sense of longing that was hard for Katara to ignore.

"Katara…" the Avatar ventured timidly.

She smiled back at him warmly; half-hoping she knew what he was going to say.

"Yes, Aang?" she replied expectantly.

He stared at her calmly and took a deep breath, gathering the courage to say something that had been weighing on his heart for what seemed like ages. Swallowing hard, he finally plunged ahead.

"I want the three of you to go back to the Earth Kingdom."

* * *

"Wow, these wrist things really work great," remarked Toph happily, as she shoved another bite of food into her mouth. "And it's so nice to actually be able to _eat_ again." 

"I can tell," Zuko observed with a wry grin.

The diminutive 12-year-old had been eating non-stop for almost an hour now, and Zuko sat there in the galley with her the whole time, amazed at how much food she had packed away. Not that he could blame her, really; it had been over three days since she'd eaten anything and been able to keep it down, and he remembered being similarly famished when he finally got over his seasickness.

"So where did everyone go?" she asked, licking her fingers greedily before plucking another pastry off the table and devouring it.

"Probably up on deck to get some fresh air," he mused, "Which actually sounds like a good idea. Care to join me?"

Toph let out a resounding belch and leaned back contentedly, propping her feet up on the empty bench next to her.

"Nah, I think I'll pass," she answered lazily. "I'm too stuffed to move. But you go on ahead," she continued with a negligent wave of her hand.

He nodded and got up, but before he walked out the door, he turned to her.

"You sure you can find your way back to your cabin?" he asked uncertainly.

"If I can't, I'll just stand in the hallway and scream until you come and help me," she grinned mischievously.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid," he retorted with a smirk.

Her only response was to lob a piece of fruit at him, which he caught deftly as he ducked out the door.

* * *

Katara gaped at Aang in complete shock, her brain refusing to comprehend what he had just said. She blinked several times in confusion, trying to force the air in and out of her lungs. 

"What?" she breathed.

Unable to bear the sight of her dismay, he turned away and looked back out over the water.

"I want to you go back to the Earth Kingdom with Toph and Sokka," he repeated evenly. "I've put you all in danger for far too long, and I don't want to risk anything happening to you. So once we get to the Fire Nation I want you three to return with the ship and go back to Omashu; and I want you to take Appa with you."

"Aang, you…you can't mean this" she gasped, now near tears, "You can't…" her tone of disbelief began to fade as anger set in, "You _can't_ send us away. We _won't_ go."

"Katara, _please_," he begged, taking her hands in his, "Appa is too easy to spot, and I know I can trust you take care of him-"

"Oh, so now you just want me to be Appa's _caretaker_?" she interrupted heatedly as she yanked her hands away, the pain of his request feeding her anguish and turning it into fury.

"No!" he pleaded, becoming discouraged, "that's not it! I just-"

"I am _not_ going to leave you!" she shouted. "Just because I have nothing left to teach you, doesn't mean you can just send me away! How can you tell me to go after all everything we've gone through to get here?"

"Because I love you too much lose you!" he yelled back.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he stopped, appalled at what he'd just admitted. For all the times he'd tried to say it, he never meant for it to come out like _that_. But seeing the hope underlying the shock on her face, he suddenly realized he didn't mean it the way she _wanted_ him to mean it…the way he _would_ have meant it before his brush with death in Ba Sing Se.

"Katara…" he stammered, "I…I didn't mean that the way it sounded…"

"Then how did you mean it?" she asked in a small voice, devastated by the truth written on his face.

"I…I don't…" Aang shook his head in frustration. "Just…forget it. Forget I said anything," he finally declared. And without another word, he hurried away.

"Aang!" she called after him desperately, but he was gone.

Not knowing what else to do, and feeling too bewildered to go after him, she wrapped her hands around the rail and bowed her head in dismay and confusion. Momo purred consolingly at her and she gently rubbed the spot between his ears, taking what comfort she could from the little lemur until a soft voice from the darkness behind her startled her into whirling around.

"He's only trying to protect you," Zuko pointed out quietly as he stood at the rail to her left. Glancing over, he noticed the way her eyes narrowed at him critically; displeased that he had been eavesdropping.

"It was hard not to overhear," he explained apologetically as he handed Momo the papaya Toph has thrown at him earlier.

Realizing that their voices had indeed been quite loud, she clenched her jaw stubbornly and looked away.

"I am _not_ letting him go into the Fire Nation alone," she announced defiantly.

"He won't _be_ alone," the prince reminded her coolly, "Uncle Iroh and I will stay with him."

She threw him a scathing glance, obviously not taking any comfort in the thought. Seeing this, he frowned in irritation, and he turned his head away from her to hide the wounded expression on his face.

"You still don't trust me," he said bitterly.

"That has nothing to do with it," she replied evenly.

"Then _prove_ it," he challenged, turning to face her. "Go back to Omashu with your brother and Toph where you'll be safe. I promise I won't let anything happen to Aang."

Hearing the impassioned honesty in his voice, Katara took a step back and stared at the banished prince with wonder. As she looked into his eyes, she was astonished by what she was finally allowing herself to see, marveling that she had not noticed it sooner.

"You really _do_ want to protect him, don't you?" she whispered in awe.

Once again, Zuko looked away, but not in time to prevent her from catching the discomfiture that clouded his features.

"He's the only hope I have left," the condemned prince admitted somberly.

Katara's previous anger melted away, unable to hold any ground in the face of Zuko's simple but heartrending confession. For the first time since he'd started traveling with them, she felt a true sense of empathy for the burned and banished prince, for everything he'd been through and everything he had yet to face. In that moment, Zuko seemed to her like a microcosm of their entire war-torn world, with Aang representing the only chance for peace of any kind.

But before she could offer any words of solace, Momo began chattering animatedly, running up to Zuko's shoulder in nothing less than a panic, wide eyes fixed on the water. Following the excited lemur's gaze, the two humans stared curiously at a bright light speeding rapidly toward them from the horizon. Momo quickly flew away.

Katara was still puzzling over what it could be when she heard Zuko gasp, and the next thing she knew, he had spun her away from the railing and thrown her to the floor, his body falling across hers to shield her from a blast that rocked the ship with a tremendous boom. Water cascaded over the rail of the ship, drenching them both even as droplets of flaming pitch hissed and burned into deck.

"What was that?" she gasped, trying to regain the air that Zuko had knocked from her lungs when he landed on top of her.

Zuko cautiously removed his hands from his head and looked around, then quickly began getting to his feet, hitching his arm around Katara's waist and hauling her up alongside him.

"That was a warning shot," he answered with knowing dread, and he promptly took her by the wrist and set off in a frantic search for the others.

**

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Author's note:** Just to clarify on reviews. All I am really looking for are reactions: did you laugh, cry, bite your nails, get confused, and if so, what exactly did you find amusing, depressing, exciting, or perplexing? Knowing _what_ you enjoy in the story helps me a lot more than simply knowing you liked what you read. So please don't feel that you have to give a critical analysis or anything. A quick mention of your favorite moment goes a long way in helping me write more of them (and of course, the more input I get the better.) 


	3. Ch 3 Current

Aang sat in his cabin with his head between his hands, miserably recounting his conversation with Katara and wondering how it could have gone so horribly wrong when the loud explosion abruptly ended his fretful contemplations. He was on his feet in an instant, all else forgotten.

As he rushed out of his cabin, he spotted Toph stumbling out of the galley at the other end of the hall.

"What the heck was _that_?" she asked, quickly but carefully moving along the wooden floor with one hand on the wall to supplement her limited sight. She couldn't 'see' the layout of the ship; only feel the vibrations of movement along the floor when others were near.

"I don't know," Aang answered, "but we need to find out."

He began to head off toward the deck when Toph's shout stopped him.

"Hey!" she called out irritably, "a little help here!"

Remembering she didn't have full use of her abilities on the wooden vessel, Aang hurried back to her and grabbed her hand.

"Sorry," he apologized in a fluster, "I forgot you can't-"

"Yeah, yeah," she snapped impatiently, "just get us up on deck!"

Together, the two raced down the hallway toward the source of the noise.

* * *

All six companions, as well as Momo, converged at the entry to the ship's hold just as another fireball crashed into the water off the starboard bow. The captain was also coming down from the bridge to address the group. 

"What's going on?" Aang asked him worriedly.

"It's the blockade," he answered hurriedly, as he came to the bottom of the stairs and started moving past them, "we've sailed right into it."

"What? How?" Zuko gasped incredulously, keeping pace with the man as he walked.

"Were we blown off course in the storm?" asked Sokka, also in step alongside him. The captain shook his head and he continued toward the cargo hold, the others following along in his wake.

"No," the man replied, continuing to lead the way, "the Navy has extended it further south and our decoy attack has most likely failed. You all need to get off this ship."

"But-" Aang tried to protest.

"General How's orders were very clear," interrupted the captain as they descended a flight of stairs. "Your mission is of the utmost importance, Avatar Aang, and must be completed at _all_ costs."

By now, they'd reached Appa, and members of the crew already had the bison's saddle in place while others were opening the cargo doors.

"We'll buy you what time we can," the captain said grimly as the group climbed up onto Appa.

"But-!" Aang tried once again to voice his concerns.

"Just go!" yelled the man as ship was tossed by another close volley.

With no other recourse, the Avatar leapt up onto Appa's head and glanced back down at the captain, his misgivings written clearly on his face, before setting his jaw resolutely as he realized there was nothing else he could do.

"Appa, yip yip!" he called, and they launched out of the cargo bay doors and into the night.

Once airborne, they could see the line of ships extending as far north as the eye could see and wrapping around some distance to the west. It came as no real surprise when three ships broke off from the blockade to follow them.

"We've been spotted," Sokka announced gloomily.

"But we're out of range," Zuko commented perceptively, looking over the side of the saddle next to Sokka, before settling back down, seemingly unconcerned. "As long as we keep heading southwest, they'll eventually be forced to break off their pursuit."

Iroh threw an alarmed glance at his nephew, but Zuko only glared back, silently demanding that his uncle say nothing. Looking over his shoulder, Aang caught the non-verbal exchange and, feeling suddenly worried, he voiced his curiosity.

"Why would they-"

"Just keep flying," Zuko commanded evenly.

Aang nodded apprehensively and steered Appa southwest, sparing a dismayed glance at Katara. She returned his gaze without reproach before looking away uncomfortably, while Sokka anxiously watched the ships trailing behind them.

* * *

They flew all night, eyes often wandering uneasily to the three vessels below. But by daybreak, the ships were falling behind, growing smaller and smaller on the horizon. 

"I don't get it," Sokka remarked in bewilderment as they finally disappeared from view. Then looking to Zuko, he asked, "Why did they stop?"

"I think I know why," answered Aang, a clear tone of sorrow in his voice.

Sokka moved to the front of the saddle, peering over the edge to get a better view of what Aang was seeing. The water ahead of them was a brilliant moiré of light and dark turquoise, indicating the varying degrees of limited sea depth. But what captured the warrior's attention were the dark shapes lying just under the surface.

Peppered throughout the sand bars and coral reefs plainly visible in the clear waters from their vantage point were scores of iron ships, listing on their sides beneath the calm ocean plane. Here and there, a rusted smokestack or tattered red banner jutted up from the blue. Small sandy islands, very few with vegetation, could also be seen dotting the area which stretched for what looked like hundreds of miles north and south and at least five miles to the west.

"Where _are_ we?" whispered Sokka in horror as his sister came up beside him to take a look as well.

"The Shallows," answered Iroh, keeping his eyes fixed on the earth bender sleeping nearby, Momo curled up beside her. She had drifted off to sleep an hour or so ago, exhausted after days of being seasick and a long night of flying.

"It's a stretch of shallow sea filled with sandbars, reefs, and uncharted islands," Zuko explained, coming up to the other side of Sokka to look out over the water. "The sands shift quickly, forcing ships to run aground, while the rocky reefs rip through the hulls. It's a treacherous area and sailors have avoided it for centuries. We can follow it north, all the way to the Fire Nation, and no one will pursue us."

"But if it's so dangerous, then why are _these_ ships here?" puzzled the water tribe warrior.

"In the early days of the war," Iroh explained, "Sozin sent his fleets here to search for the Avatar, thinking this was the perfect hiding place. They never found him of course."

Sokka gazed back out at the water, appalled at the number of sunken vessels he saw, and he couldn't help but ask, barely above a whisper, "How many ships did they lose?"

"Enough that uncle never let me search here," answered Zuko quietly.

Katara and Sokka both stared at the prince in startled distress. It was a wholly unsettling reminder of how they had first met their newest ally, and of how obsessively he had once hunted Aang.

"I guess it's a good thing we're flying then," Sokka remarked nervously.

"The waters are not the only danger," Iroh declared ominously. This earned him a sharp glare from his nephew.

"Uncle…" he warned.

"What do you mean?" asked Katara with open curiosity.

Everyone, including Aang, turned to Iroh expectantly, ignoring the glower that Zuko was sending at the retired general.

"Only one person has ever been known to return from The Shallows," Iroh replied in his best storyteller's voice. "He had been adrift at sea for days, perhaps weeks, after the last fleet disappeared. By the time he was found, he was sick with fever, raving madly about faces in the mist, and monsters from the deep.

"When he finally returned to the capitol, he demanded an audience with Fire Lord Sozin, warning him that the spirits were angry, and would soon rise up to destroy any who defied them. Afterwards he disappeared…never to be heard from again. They say he came back to search for his lost crewmates and that his ghost still travels the waters here, luring foolish sailors to their doom."

"Great," drawled Sokka dryly, "Cursed caves, creepy swamps, and now a haunted sea. The weirdness just keeps following around us wherever we go."

"It's just a ridiculous story," Zuko interjected irritably, "meant to scare little kids into behaving themselves."

"Yes," Iroh chimed in with a knowing grin at his nephew, "and I recall it worked quite well on you."

Zuko only rolled his eyes in exasperation and sighed, "Uncle, I was _seven_."

The old man merely chuckled while the others stifled their amused giggles, the portentous mood quickly dispelling as the sun lit the sky with all its glory.

"Even if there was a survivor," reasoned Katara, "it's likely he was simply delirious from exposure."

"Yeah," rationalized Sokka, "I mean 'monsters from the deep'? The water here is anything but."

"Hmm, you're probably right," the old fire bender conceded, but as he exchanged a look at Aang, who remained unusually quiet, he knew that they two alone knew better than to dismiss such stories.

* * *

Around midday, they landed on a small isle, one of the few permanent ones apparently, for it was covered in thick, tropical vegetation. While the others stayed on the beach, Sokka and Zuko went in search of food. They wandered through the palm trees, but so far, they had only managed to find a handful of edible fruits. 

"I don't think there's much else here," Zuko stated dimly.

"There _has_ to be more," Sokka groaned, "I'm starving."

Shaking his head at the water tribe boy's customary complaint, the prince went a short distance away to investigate a promising looking shrub. Sokka, meanwhile, had stumbled on a trail of small, fuzzy plums that Zuko had told him were safe to eat. Cheered by his find, he picked them up one by one and tucked them into the crook of his arm.

As he came across more he began plucking them up from the ground quickly, barely paying any mind to what he was grabbing until his hand fell on something white.

It was a skull.

He fell back with a high-pitched shriek, the food he'd been carrying flying up momentarily before raining back down to the ground. A moment later, when Zuko came hurrying up behind him, Sokka was still staring in horror at what he'd found.

"What's the ma-"

Zuko stopped when he saw the stricken expression on Sokka's face and, following the warrior's gaze, he too stepped back with a startled yelp as he discovered the cause of his companion's alarm.

Two skeletons lay half buried in the sand, the tattered remains of their scarlet uniforms still clinging to the arms and hands that were locked in an eternal stranglehold on each other's necks. It was obvious from their position that the two had killed each other. The trees groaned in the wind and suddenly the air felt chilled.

Zuko swallowed uncomfortably, and the two teenage boys glanced uneasily at each other, and then back to the bleached bleach bones of the dead.

"You know I think I we have enough food," Sokka announced quickly.

"Yep me too," replied Zuko just as swiftly.

And without another word or taking the time to recollect the scattered fruit, they turned and practically ran back to Appa.

* * *

After landing on several different islands throughout the day, looking for a place to rest, and finding more and more skeletons all locked in the throws of brutal murder; the group finally opted to settle down on one of the uninhabitable sand bars peeking out of the ocean. Aang and Toph worked together to solidify the sand so it would not shift in the night, but in the end there was still only barely enough room for Appa. 

So they broke out their pillows and blankets and made themselves as comfortable as possible in the saddle. They were all exhausted after flying all night and all day, and no one had the energy to complain about the arrangement.

Aang lay sideways at the front of the saddle, followed by Iroh then Zuko in the middle, with Sokka across the rear. At the boys' feet, Toph and Katara ran the length of the saddle, Toph with her head near the front, and Katara's facing the back.

The evening was warm enough at the start, but as night deepened and a dense fog began to roll in, and without the benefit of a campfire, it became increasingly colder, until they were all shivering in their sleep. Drawing his blanket tight against the moist, chilly air, Aang got up and moved to lie down in between the two fire benders, using their collective body heat to stay warm.

A short while later, Toph got up as well, and squeezed herself in between Aang and Iroh, shifting the air bender over into Zuko, who in turn unwittingly encroached on Sokka's already limited sleeping space.

With a grumble, the water tribe warrior stepped carefully across the sleeping bodies and lay back down in the larger space Aang had originally occupied, scooting closer to Iroh for additional heat. Not long after, Momo tucked himself between those two with a contended purr.

Finally, Katara sat up sleepily as well and, crawling over to where she last saw her brother, wedged herself in-between him and the saddle wall. Pulling closer for warmth, she mumbled groggily.

"Share a little blanket would you, Sokka?"

Barely registering the request in his sleep, he tossed the edge of the blanket over her shoulders. And when she used the opportunity to draw up against his chest, he lazily dropped his arm over her, suddenly having no other place to put it.

"Thanks," she murmured.

"You're welcome."

At the sound of the prince's voice, her eyes snapped open in the darkness. She slowly slid her gaze up from the dark tunic she was pressed up against, desperately hoping that what she'd heard was merely a trick of the ears. But when her eyes fell on Zuko's face, his telltale scar nestled into the crook of his arm, she gasped and pushed herself upright.

"Zuko!"

The sudden pressure against his chest, combined with the panicked tone of Katara's yell, jolted Zuko out of his sleep and he sat up abruptly, eyes fetching about wildly for the source of the girl's distress.

"What! What's wrong?" he asked breathlessly, casting his glance around for some sign of danger.

But all he found was Katara, one hand clamped over her mouth and her wide eyes staring at him in disbelief. He quickly looked behind him to make sure some creature was not about to pounce on him unaware and, seeing nothing in the fog, turned back to her in confusion.

"What's the matter?" he asked again. Her hand dropped down from her mouth, which opened and closed a few times, not unlike a fish.

"Sokka was…I mean," she stammered, "I got cold, and…I thought…"

Zuko glanced to the front of the saddle where her brother snored peacefully next to Iroh, then back to her, his expression remaining puzzled.

"Everybody's cold, Sweetness," Toph grumbled dolefully, only barely awake. "Now go back to sleep."

Zuko and Katara continued to look at each other, one in bewilderment, and the other in increasing hesitation. But as the water bender hung her head awkwardly, Zuko finally began to understand what the problem was, and he frowned despondently. Without a word, he got up and moved to the other side of the saddle, startling Katara.

"What are you doing?" she asked timidly.

"I can see you're uncomfortable," he answered with a tinge of bitterness, lying down along the saddle's length with his back to her.

"But…won't you get co-"

"I'll manage!" he snapped.

"Zuko…" she began apologetically, but her brother's voice cut her off.

"Keep it down over there, will ya?" he groused drowsily.

Katara continued to stare forlornly at Zuko's back, not knowing what to do or say. At last, she lay back down, and pulled her blanket up around her face. But she found neither warmth nor comfort from it.

* * *

Momo awoke suddenly in the night, feeling anxious as the icy fog thickened around them. He chirruped in alarm as tendrils of mist began slithering into the saddle, snaking around the bodies of his human companions. 

Leaping up before one could touch him, he chattered loudly, trying to wake the others and warn them of danger. But they did not stir. He attempted to bat one of the foul wisps away, but his tiny hand met no resistance, and the mist merely continued enveloping the sleeping travelers.

Rising in panic, he flew to Appa's ear, shrieking madly and tugging on the bison's fur. Getting no response, he pulled at the large beast's eyelids, but still his giant friend did not wake. Abandoning his efforts to get help from Appa, he hurried back to try and wake the others once more…and then suddenly stopped in shock.

The saddle was empty.

_

* * *

_

_Commercial Break_

**A note about Aang and Katara's relationship:** There have been some questions/concerns recently about Aang and Katara's feelings toward each other that I feel I should address to some degree. First off, it's _meant_ to be confusing because they themselves are still trying to figure things out. And while I thought I had made things clear in earlier episodes, I apparently have not. So at the expense of giving away too much of the overall story arc, I will try to explain.

During 'Threads of Fate', Aang accepted the fact that he can't be _in _love with Katara, but it hasn't really changed how he _feels_ about her. _He still loves her_. The only difference is he no longer has the kind of possessiveness that he displayed during 'Lake Laogai' (when Sokka suggested Katara kiss Jet). He is trying very hard to let her go, and in the process has wound up burying/denying how he really feels.

As for Katara, her feelings for Aang have been very hard to gauge in the canon series. For the most part, she seems completely oblivious of Aang's affections to the point of practically ignoring every attempt he has made to tell her how he feels. So for _my_ story, I've taken the position that, as Aang has become more mature and focused, she has started seeing him in a different light without even realizing it. However, during 'The Solstice Festival' she was forced to start consciously examining her feelings for Aang when he decided to take Toph (and not her) to the banquet.

So basically, you have a couple of very confused kids who love each other, but aren't really sure about in what _way_ (platonic or romantic). I hope that clears things up a little and I'm sorry if I confused anyone.


	4. Ch 4 Adrift

**Author's note:** You know the oddest thing occurred to me recently. I received more reviews when I nearly abandoned this series than I have ever gotten from posting a new chapter….

-ponders-

…I'm not quite sure how to feel about that… o.0

-shrugs-

Anyway, back to the 'show'.

* * *

Momo gaped at the saddle, disbelieving what he saw. With a resolve only a loyal pet could possess, he quickly began searching the empty blankets, frantically turning up the hems and tossing them aside, tunneling underneath the covers and coming out the other end empty handed. 

Once by one he checked them all before finally plopping down despondently among the disarray, his ears dropping along his back as he let out a distraught and helpless purr.

* * *

The first thing Toph was aware of was a blurred sense of her surroundings; one she shouldn't have had in Appa's saddle. Still curled up on her side, she moved her hand along what should have been tightly woven Water Tribe canvas, but instead her fingers raked across the sand. 

Fighting the haze of sleep that clouded her brain, she sat up slowly, digging her palms into the fine, grainy ground as she tried to figure out where she was and how she got there.

"Did I fall out of the saddle?" she wondered aloud.

But the bison's weight, which was unmistakable even in such blurred conditions, was nowhere to be found, nor was any other presence. Her breaths became shorter as she tried to quell her rising panic.

"Aang? Zuko?" she called nervously. "Anyone?"

There was no response.

"Come on guys," she called again, trying to cover her fear with annoyance, "if this is a joke, it isn't funny."

As she stood on the small isle, her feet sifting through the sand for any sign of life, she was unable to see or otherwise detect the thick mist that surrounded her, leaving only a tiny clearing; the space she occupied.

It roiled and slithered, hungrily circling the blind girl who was ignorant of its presence…and powerless against it.

* * *

Sokka sighed as he leaned his forehead against Suki's, gently tracing a finger along her jaw line, trailing it to her lips. She tilted her head ever so slightly, and their mouths met in gentle passion. But when he drew her closer to deepen the kiss, his arm sank right into her body. He pulled back in horror as she melted away into dust….slipping through his fingers like… 

Sokka sat up with a splutter.

"Sand," he spat, wiping the grime from his mouth with the back of his hand, and furiously brushing and simultaneously blowing the grains off his tongue. "Plew! Ack! Bleh!"

He fully expected to hear a round of giggles at his embarrassing awakening, but when none came, he stood up and looked around. The air was filled with swirling mist, and there was no one around. As near as he could tell, it was morning, but the light was considerably dimmed by the thick mantle of fog that surrounded him.

"Katara?" he shouted nervously. "Aang?"

Trying to ignore his own fear, Sokka headed into the fog to find the others. He never even noticed the shapeless form that coalesced behind him briefly before dissipating back into the mist to follow after him, the dense fog swallowing the space where he'd been.

* * *

The mist thinned only slightly as Katara made her way through it. By now, she had determined that she was alone on a sand bar, but how she had gotten there and where the others might be was still a complete mystery. Having traversed the islet from one end to the other and finding nothing, she stopped at the edge of the water and peered into the fog. 

Wherever the others were, they certainly weren't _here_. Her mind made up, she took a stance to bend the mist away in the hopes she might be able to see further across the shallow sea. But much to her dismay, the dampness in the air refused to respond to her command.

Flabbergasted at her failure, she tried again with the same results…or lack thereof. She stamped her foot in angry frustration and let out an irritated huff. Then calming herself slightly, she tried to pull up some water from the ocean. It rose to her call and flowed around as she dictated.

"Well," she concluded with some small relief, "it's not my bending…"

Useless to aid her in her plight, she let the liquid drop to the sand with a disgruntled and brooding sigh.

"But why can't I bend the _mist_?"

* * *

Iroh stood calmly in the fog, eyes closed, and hands pressed together as he gathered his breath, preparing an attempt to burn away the dense vapor. His eyes snapped open as he unleashed a blast of searing blue flame. It was overkill, he was sure, but best to try the big stuff first, he figured, and since he'd already determined there was no one else around he saw no reason to hold back. 

The fire spread out quickly from his fists, cutting a path through the mist before him, evaporating the water from the air. A small grin tugged at his mouth, but it quickly fell when the fog deepened, rising and swirling then devouring the flames, quenching them with an angry hiss.

He stepped back and blinked for a moment in surprise before scratching his head confoundedly.

"Well, _that _was unexpected," he mumbled to himself, eyes still wide in disbelief.

Taking a deep breath, he tried it again, this time with a smaller, more focused blast. And once again, the mist engulfed the fire, consuming it in much the same fashion as a prickle-snake dining on an egg. Iroh merely let out a short 'Hrm.'

"I guess it's time to try something else," he said aloud, the sound of his own voice brining a small measure of comfort in this unusual and unsettling circumstance.

Walking until he found the edge of the isle, he took a tentative step into the water, and stopped. The mist had become almost solid, forcing him to put all his weight into moving forward. He grunted against the strain for a moment, pushing against the mist.

It pushed back.

With a speed and strength unimaginable from such a tenuous substance, the fog thrust the old fire bender down into the soft sand, where he landed on his rump. But his shock at being thrown was nothing compared to what he felt when the fog melded to form a contemptuous and disapproving scowl.

It glared at him with baleful colorless eyes for a moment, before dissolving back into the mist as though it had never existed, leaving the retired general to blink and gape at the swirling fog in disconcerted alarm.

* * *

Aang took a deep breath and let it out quickly, then leaned forward on his air scooter as it raced across the sand. He rocketed into the wall of mist at the water's edge…and snapped backward like an arrow shot from a bow. With a yell, he sailed the full distance back across the isle, slammed into the billowing mist on the other side, and then landed face down onto the sand with an 'oof!' 

Sand blew out from around his nose briefly as he let out a disgruntled breath. Then, heaving a heavy sigh, he got to his feet, spitting sand from his mouth and brushing it from his clothes. He'd now tried everything he could think of. Neither air nor water bending had any affect whatsoever on the roiling fog and it apparently sucked out all sound from the bison whistle. As for leaving…well that hadn't turned out well at all.

"What am I supposed to _do_?" he yelled in frustration.

"What do you _want_ to do?" whispered a genderless voice from what seemed to be directly behind him.

He spun around, hands up and ready to defend himself…but there was only the mist. Confused, he dropped from his stance and shook his head. Maybe his ears were playing tricks on him. Regardless, he took a few steps back from the area he thought the sound came from, looking about warily as he did so.

"So eager to leave?" the sibilant voice hiss once more, and this time Aang could swear he felt a cold breath on the back of his neck.

Whirling around to face the presence, he almost missed the expressionless face before it shifted out of focus to rejoin the fog.

"Who are you?" the Avatar shouted, growing tired of being toyed with by…whatever it was prowling in the mist. "Show yourself!"

"But I _am_ showing myself," insisted the voice lazily. "Or perhaps you cannot see me…like the little blind earth bender?"

"What have you done with Toph?" Aang demanded angrily, poised to fight despite how useless the gesture might be. "Where are my friends?"

Peering into the fog, Aang could now make out segments of fog that seemed thicker than the rest, gliding through the haze like an eel in murky waters. Icy fear gripped him as he realized that the thing taunting him was most definitely not human.

"Your friends are safe," it reassured him coyly.

Suddenly, the milky fog formed into a wickedly grinning face right in front of Aang's wide, startled eyes before quickly disappearing again.

"…For now."

* * *

Zuko kept his fists held up before him, ready to unleash a blast of fire as he turned in a slow circle, narrowed eyes restlessly scanning the swirling mist. His feet made hardly any noise in the soft sand as he continued his vigilant and battle-ready investigation of the vacant island where he awoke. 

But despite his confident defensive stance, inside he was completely unnerved. He was certain something lurked nearby, for he had caught sight of a long, snakelike shape gliding through the fog more than once.

A tendril emerged from the haze behind him, languidly stretching out to caress his shoulder. Catching the movement from the corner of his eye, he whirled around to face the threat, but it evaporated into the mist. His breaths were coming faster now as he struggled to remain calm and focused.

"Don't be afraid," crooned a voice from behind, cold air brushing against his flesh.

A frightened yell escaped his lips as he spun around again, this time letting a blast of flames erupt from his fist. The action was greeted by husky laugh that seemed to echo and shift through the fog all around him, and his eyes scanned the area for its source.

"Poor little princeling," it continued to purr sympathetically from a location Zuko could not pinpoint. "Unloved, unwanted…._hideous_," the last word was hissed right into his ear.

His body tensed at the proximity, and the hair on his neck stood on end, but he held his ground, refusing to be cowed by the unseen being, and the stinging insult turning his fear into bitter anger.

"What do you want?" he growled, lowering his hands and balling them at his sides.

The mist coalesced before him, forming into a long thick tendril of icy fog. He went rigid as it wound around his body, moving seductively across his shoulders and down his back, and then circling around his chest before reaching up to stroke his scarred cheek.

"The real question," it answered slyly, "is what do _you_ want?"

"Right now, I'd like to get off this island," Zuko stated with a boldness he didn't quite feel.

"What's the matter, my prince?" the voice sighed as the snakelike form embracing him suddenly dispersed into nothing. "Are you missing your…_friends_?"

"What have you done with them?" asked Zuko with a dangerous edge. "If you've hurt them-"

Another sultry laugh interrupted as the mist continued to writhe and twist just out of sight.

"_I'm_ not the one you should be worried about. _My_ intentions are _honorable_," it suggested meaningfully. "You know all about _honor_, don't you, Prince Zuko."

"How do you know my name?" Zuko demanded suspiciously.

Again, the mist laughed; that pervasive, humorless, and almost sensual laugh devoid of all human emotion.

"I know every _facet_ of you," it answered silkily in his ear, the sound receding distantly as the last syllable fell from the mist.

The fog then ceased its churning, and the frigid presence seemed to fade away, leaving the prince isolated and alone once more. He let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding and sank to the ground, feeling suddenly drained of all energy. But his relief was short-lived.

The sound of footfalls on sand bounced through the fog, and Zuko was on his feet in an instant. But as he turned to face the sound, he stepped back. A shadow, a real, corporeal, and solid form, was coming toward him. And as it moved closer, a startled gasp escaped the prince.

Emerging menacingly from the mist with swords drawn…was the Blue Spirit.


	5. Ch 5 Fathom

A spray of sand kicked up weakly before scattering back to the ground, causing the blind earth bender to scowl in frustration. She took another stance and tried again, with similarly unimpressive results.

After finding the edges of the small island she was on, Toph had pondered her possible courses of action; trying to swim off the isle was completely out of the question, so she hadn't even tried. Calling out for her friends had been equally useless; they weren't there with her, and apparently weren't anywhere on the water nearby.

So she had had begun experimentally bending the sand. It was awkward, even more so than working with metal, which at least had some _substance_ to it.

"Ugh," she groaned with disgust at her feeble attempts, "I might as well be working with _air_."

"Having trouble?" asked a soft voice from someplace near and far all at once.

Toph dropped into a defensive pose as she called out, "Who's there?"

Without any pressure on the ground to guide her, she was uncertain which way to turn, and she couldn't see the mist surrounding her, nor sense any solid form it took. But the voice, despite not sounding recognizably male or female, was real enough.

"Poor little child," the mist purred consolingly, "so frail, so…_helpless_."

As it spoke, the voice seemed to move from place to place in such a fashion that Toph assumed it must be airborne.

"Put your feet on solid ground," she taunted nastily, incensed by the remark, "and I'll _show _you how helpless I am!"

"I'm afraid there is no solid ground here," the sibilant voice chuckled.

Toph's response was a quick twist of her foot as her arms moved with force down to her sides, and all the sand around her melded into a rock-hard surface.

"You were saying?" she boldly challenged.

"You think yourself so clever don't you," the voice hissed right in Toph's ear.

The earth bender spun around with a terrified yell, eyes widening involuntarily in fright. There had been no pressure within the circle of firm earth she'd created, yet she had _felt_ a cold hand on her shoulder.

And even now, she could sense a shifting of cool moisture flowing around her, becoming tangible for brief moments as it passed and then evaporating away as soon as it made contact. Whatever this _thing, _this presence was, it wasn't anything with a physical body.

"What are you?" asked Toph, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

Unseen by the blind girl, a sadistically grinning face formed in the mist right beside her, weaving around Toph like a lion-hawk circling its prey.

"Do you really want to know?" it teased, "Do you want to _see_ me?"

Toph stiffened in terror as she felt the icy tendrils snake around her, moving almost lovingly over her face, her eyes.

"Because I can _show_ you…"

* * *

"What is it you want?" demanded Aang coldly. 

The mist only sighed, "I want what _you_ want, actually."

"Really?" he drawled, crossing his arms and scowling. "I find that hard to believe."

"The path ahead of you is dangerous," it answered, sounding genuinely sympathetic and concerned as it continued to wind around him, "Your task fraught with peril. You fear for your friends…and rightly so."

The Avatar's temper began to falter and his expression softened into a confused and worried frown. He could not deny the truth of what was being said.

"I can help," the mist continued kindly, "I can keep them safe…I can keep _her_ safe."

Bowing his head, Aang whispered, "Katara…"

So caught up was he in his own unexpected rise of emotions, Aang didn't see the mist swirl into a delighted grinning face, full of wicked triumph. By the time the boy looked up, it had snaked away to flow through the mist once more.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a tiny voice.

"She's very special," remarked the mist absently as though it had not heard, "quite unlike any human I've ever met, really; very…_selfless_. All her desires seem to revolve around," the mist swiftly coiled around Aang, a somber face appearing right before his, "_you_."

The snakelike form flowed away from Aang as quickly as it had engulfed him, swimming languidly through the mist as it continued its speech.

"She would sacrifice her life for yours in an instant," the fog mused. It ceased its restless churning for a moment, as if in deep thought, then shifted again as it finished ominously.

"And if she stays by your side…she _will_."

* * *

"Why should I listen to anything you say?" asked Sokka pragmatically. "As far as I'm concerned, you're just a bad dream, and once I wake up, I'm going to have a nice long laugh and forget all about this." 

"Ooooh, so _logical,_" purred the mist pleasantly, curling seductively around the warrior's body, "Such a calculating and rational mind."

A sultry pout emerged in front of Sokka's face as the mist continued, "Too bad it couldn't save Yue."

At the mention of the princess's name, Sokka paled. Dream or no dream, the memory was still painful, and for it to be brought up so callously was almost more than he could bear.

"She made her own choice," he replied painfully.

Seeing his distress, the mist-creature flitted away, circled around, and then came back.

"Of _course_ she did," comforted the voice with what seemed like authentic compassion. "It's not as though you could have _prevented_ it somehow, anymore than you could…stop a fireball or…heal with water."

"Hey, just because I'm not a bender doesn't make me useless," he snapped back irritably.

"Doesn't it?" asked the mist, turning an innocently puzzled face toward the teen.

Sokka stared back at the guileless expression with a mixture of indignation and sorrow. The truth of the statement, something he had never allowed himself to dwell on, struck him like a blow from a sword. Without a word, he turned away, for once unable to come back with a witty reply.

* * *

"Are you ignoring me?" the mist sneered silkily. 

"On the contrary," Iroh answered, seeming completely unphased.

As soon as it became clear the he had no affect on the mist, and was likewise unable to leave the island, Iroh had sat down, crossed his legs into a lotus position and rested his hands in his lap. All around him, he could feel the mist swirling, running snaky tendrils over his body. But he paid them no mind and simply continued his meditation.

"I'm merely examining the insides of my eyelids," he explained nonchalantly. "They need that from time to time, you know; keeps them working properly."

"Such a charming sense of humor," the voice remarked almost dryly. "But you weren't always so dispassionate…_General_."

"Maybe not," he responded casually with his eyes still closed. Then after a moment of consideration, he opened his eyes and addressed it pointedly, "but Time has a funny way of lessening a man's desires_…Tanha_."

At the sound of its name, the mist purred, positively delighted, "So you _do_ know me."

"Suspected actually," Iroh confessed smugly. "After all, you've been nothing but a legend for centuries. But thank you for confirming it."

Narrowed eyes flashing with displeasure formed, dissipated, and formed again.

"Don't think that just because you know my name you will be immune, old man," Tanha hissed at him, pressing a gruesome visage against Iroh's nose.

"Do your worst, demon," he challenged calmly, his eyes unblinking. "You have not the power to restore me my wife and son, and my nephew is his own man." With a note of sorrow, Iroh bowed his head and added, "I have no desires left for you to exploit."

The fog only swirled merrily as Tanha laughed.

"That's what _you_ think…"

* * *

Too horrified at first to react, Zuko took a few steps back, staring in disbelief at his alter ego. 

"This isn't possible," he whispered, and then defiantly shouted, "You aren't real!"

But The Blue Spirit merely continued its steady advance, the twin dao twirling in a deadly dance of steel. As Zuko's back pressed up against the impenetrable wall of fog at the water's edge, his instinct for survival was forced to take over.

When one of the swords slashed forward, Zuko ducked beneath it, stepping to one side while unleashing a powerful blast of fire at the enemy, quickly darting behind his adversary to gain more room to move. With equal speed and grace the Blue Spirit dodged the flames and turned, slicing down at Zuko's feet to try and knock him off balance.

The prince lept over the blade and immediately raised hand to block the second, catching it on the wrist guard. A well-aimed, fiery kick knocked the masked attacker back, and Zuko took the opportunity to forge his own pair of blazing swords. They wouldn't do much for parrying, but they at least gave him more reach for an attack.

Not waiting for The Blue Spirit to recover, Zuko launched a vicious, whirling assault. While his 'blades' could not be used to block the physical blades, the hardened metal was likewise unable to stop the momentum of pure flame.

The two were now surrounded in a blur of fire and steel, as they struck at each other's weapons with limited success. Small burns and cuts erupted quickly on both combatants' limbs as each struggled to gain an advantage over the other.

At last, Zuko managed to force his opponent into a spin, and as soon as The Blue Spirit's back was to him, the prince sliced through the ribbon holding the mask in place. It fell to the sand and Zuko stepped away, waiting for the enemy to show his true face. But when the mysterious rival finally turned, Zuko's weapons flickered and went out.

Staring back at him with a sinister smirk was an unmarred and perfect version of Zuko's own face.

"Well," said the doppelganger slyly, an exact echo of the prince's voice, "Aren't _you_ the ugly one?"

* * *

"Why are you doing this to us?" asked Katara in a petulant whisper. 

"Because it's what I _do_," replied Tanha, moving languidly around the water bender. "Mortal desires are so…_intoxicating_. But you…"

The mist formed a graceful hand and tilted Katara's face up by the chin, forcing the girl to stare directly into a pair of silvery-white eyes.

"You are not like the others," it remarked musingly before releasing its hold and swirling away. "Nothing you desire seems to be for yourself."

"I already have the things I wanted most," Katara reasoned warily, eyes carefully following the swirling shapes in the mist. "I've mastered water bending, and now I'm putting that to good use by helping Aang."

"Yes," Tanha agreed, sounding a bit vexed by the situation. "Your loyalty to your friends is most unprecedented. You would fight and die to protect them and never feel a moment's desire for more than to know that you've saved them."

"They're my family…"

Tanha coalesced once more into a writhing serpent, winding around Katara with a sudden air of satisfaction.

"All but _one_…" the demon responded knowingly into the water bender's ear from behind.

At this, Katara's guarded poise seemed to falter, and the mist-demon grinned with evil delight, having finally found a desire within this noble girl that could be corrupted.

"He's one of us now," Katara insisted, trying to regain her composure, but it was too late. Her doubt had been exposed and Tanha wasn't about to let the chance slip away.

"You want so much to trust him," Tanha said consolingly, circling around through the mist once more. "But it can't be easy, after he hunted you down like a wild animal, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace. Why, you even offered to _heal_ him," it continued with a sympathetic expression hanging in the air before the girl's face, "and how did he repay your kindness?"

"He's not like that anymore," whispered Katara faintly, turning away as she tried to push back the painful memories of Aang's defeat in the catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se.

"But you can never be certain," purred Tanha, "can you?"

Katara closed her eyes, refusing to respond.

"You'll have to choose soon, little water bender," warned the mist-demon, gliding along Katara's shoulders and caressing her cheek.

"Which desire will win, I wonder?" asked Tanha, "Will you trust your prince…or save your friends?"

**

* * *

**

**Author's note:** I can't begin tell you all how much fun I am having with this 'episode'. Every time I read a review about how I've creeped someone out, I practically cackle with glee. Thank you so much for sharing your reactions with me; they are the inspiration and drive that keeps me writing.


	6. Ch 6 Yearning

"Would you care for some tea, General?" asked Tanha politely as a steaming pot and cup materialized out of the mist.

"Thank you for the offer," answered Iroh with equal decorum, "but I'm quite content."

The mist swirled and eddied as Tanha laughed. "Oh come now, Iroh, surely you don't think I could lure you to my control with something so meaningless as _tea_." She curled a wispy tendril around the old man's arm and purred into his ear, "Not when you have other, much more _fascinating_ desires."

Iroh merely tucked his hands within his sleeves, as he stoically replied, "I've already told you there is nothing you can tempt me with."

"So it would seem," she sighed, letting the tea set dissolve back into the mist and sounding disappointed. "Your lust for power and control died ages ago. Such a pity, too," she continued, shifting around to face him and forming an expression of innocence. "You'd have made a marvelous Fire Lord.

"But of course, that isn't what you wanted," Tanha mused as she drifted away again. "No, your desires are far more…uncomplicated; a quiet life, with good food, excellent tea, and a riveting game of Pai Sho."

"The simple pleasures in life are often the most rewarding," Iroh stated sagely.

"Simple pleasures that you are so often denied," remarked the mist-demon sadly turning away from her victim.

When Iroh let out a small, involuntary sigh of longing, Tanha's ephemeral eyes gleamed with delight. She was so close now she could almost taste her victory.

"After being dragged all over the world for your nephew's sake, you'd think the boy would eventually give you a chance to rest and relax," ranted the mist conversationally. "Let you set up a nice teashop somewhere and enjoy your days in peace. But you and I both know he's not that considerate.

"He isn't ready for leadership," Tanha remarked seriously, this time getting a stern but questioning look from the retired general. "And do you want to know something really interesting?" she asked, sidling up to Iroh like a close friend with the latest tidbit of juicy gossip to whisper gleefully in his ear.

"He doesn't even _want_ it."

* * *

"How do you know this?" asked Aang suspiciously. "Can you see the future?" 

"No," admitted Tanha reasonably, "but I _can_ see into people's hearts; know their desires. And hers will drive her to sacrifice herself…if you _let_ her."

"What do you mean, if _I_ let her?" demanded the Avatar peevishly, "I already tried to send her back to Omashu. And now there's no way for her to go, even if she agreed," he finished morosely.

"So I've gathered," lamented the demon, coming behind Aang to rest a pair of icy hands on his shoulders in a gesture of comfort. He stiffened at the contact.

"It's such a shame really," she went on sadly, almost wistfully, "you deserve to be with someone like her. You've sacrificed so much already, it isn't fair that you have to give her up too."

She then spun toward him, her voice mirroring his own sense of indignant rage.

"And for what?" she asked unhappily, "You can't even go into the Avatar State anymore, so what good has come of renouncing your love for her? Nothing has changed so why must you suffer and deny how you feel?"

By now, Aang's fists were clenched tightly at his sides, his face twisted in tormented heartache. He'd been asking these same traitorous questions for weeks, always pushing them aside the moment they'd surfaced. But to hear another speak these things aloud left him no choice but to consider them.

"So what am I supposed to _do_ about it?" he yelled irately.

Tanha swam around him in leisurely circles as she answered.

"You can let me help you."

* * *

"Look," snarled Sokka, "I don't need any help from some creepy dream-fog. I can fight just fine on my own!" 

"With weapons…" the mist sneered.

"So?"

"You have none at the moment," Tanha reminded him teasingly, "So what would you do, I wonder, if you were attacked right now?"

"With any luck, I'd wake up," replied the warrior under his breath.

"Still convinced this is a dream, I see," remarked the mist casually. "So why not just imagine the possibilities...of a _nightmare_!" she hissed, swirling madly with a maniacal and evil grin.

Before the teen could finish processing the demon's threat, the ground around him erupted in a spray of sand. He looked around in horror as bony hands shot up from the beach, clawing their way to the surface, and pulling their clattering bodies out of the sand. Stepping back, he shrieked when one grabbed at his ankle, and frantically he kicked it off.

By the time he had recovered his footing he was surrounded by no less than a dozen animated skeletons closing in on him, their emaciated fingers stretching toward him. Meanwhile, Tanha laughed malevolently.

"Now what will you do, _brave warrior_?" she mocked.

Sokka never had a chance to answer, for at that moment, a skeletal hand fell on his shoulder. On instinct, he whirled around and shot his fist forward to land a solid punch right into the unearthly grinning face. But nothing could have prepared him for the result.

A blast of searing flames burst from Sokka's hand, incinerating the skeleton to ash. He took only a moment to stare at the seemingly foreign appendage attached to his body before instinctively striking out at the next undead monster that grabbed him. Once again, his attack was accented by fire, and as he flung his arm in a wide arc toward his foes, a powerful wave of flames followed it, burning them all to the ground.

Glancing around at the piles of ash, and with the immediate danger ended, the water tribe warrior stared at his hands in complete awe and shock, turning them over to look at them from all angles in disbelief as though they could not possibly be his own. When he spoke, all he could manage was a distressed whimper.

"This can't be happening."

* * *

"Would you like me to prove it to you?" asked Tanha slyly. 

"What I'd _like_ is for you to quit _messing_ with me," retorted Toph irritably. "I don't know who you are, or what you're playing at, but I am _not_ going to participate in your little games."

The earth bender punctuated this bold declaration by crossing her arms and sitting down.

"I don't expect you to," the demon agreed gently. "After all, you've played the role of the helpless little blind girl your whole life, haven't you?" Seeing the uncertain frown that flitted across Toph's face, Tanha continued, "always having to hide your abilities from your family, pretending all the while to be the dutiful daughter."

The mist curled around Toph compassionately, "Such a false and horrible way of life."

Toph shuddered as she fought back the sob trapped in her throat. She could not see the exultant smirk spreading across Tanha's murky white face as the mist wrapped a pair of insubstantial hands around her blind eyes.

"I can give you so much more," Tanha whispered.

Toph's face clouded in confusion as something wholly unexpected and unlike anything she'd ever experienced began to take place. The darkness she had known all her life, with which she so was so familiar, started to change. It was beyond her ability to describe, but it somehow seemed…_brighter_.

It was the first time the word had ever made any sense, but now she was certain it was the correct term as the sensation increased in intensity. Awareness was building as the darkness receded, and despite how alien the occurrence was, or how illogical the circumstance seemed, she could comprehend what she was…_seeing_.

Tanha pulled her 'hands' from Toph's face, and the filmy white cataracts that had been there since her birth cleared away to reveal a pair of brilliant, green, and _functioning_ eyes.

It was all Toph could do to remember to breathe as she stared in bewilderment at the swirling mist that filled her vision. A small part of her rational mind was telling her that none of this was real. But at the same time, what else _could_ it be? It wasn't as though she had _any_thing to compare this to, no deep-seeded or forgotten memory to draw on. _This, _she concluded…was _sight_.

Blinking around at the thick haze surrounding her, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

"Not much to look at," she remarked as calmly as she could. But her voice carried the full burden of her shock, trembling with fear and uncertainty.

Tanha only smiled at her (at least Toph _assumed_ that's what the expression was), and then flowed away; parting the mist to reveal something the blind girl had only ever had the vaguest impression of, but had never experienced in this context.

Yet somehow, she knew, without even the benefit of feeling their weight upon the earth or hearing their familiar voices, what she was looking at.

Appa let out a low moan, while Momo chattered happily from his perch on the edge of the saddle. On top of the bison's head sat Aang, with Zuko behind him next to Iroh while Sokka and Katara stood on the ground beside Appa, packing up the camp.

And when Aang looked over at her and waved, the only thing Toph could do was stare.

* * *

Zuko was too stunned to react or even respond. He wasn't sure what he had expected when he'd unmasked his enemy, but it certainly was not _this_. What he saw before him was beyond all reason, all comprehension. Were it not for the bleeding and painful cuts on his arms and legs, he'd dismiss this all as a terrible dream. 

From behind him, Zuko heard the mist purr seductively, and he watched as it coalesced into a decidedly curvaceous female figure. She slinked up next to the prince's unmarred twin, and wound her arms flirtatiously around him. The clone seemed to enjoy the attention, for his lips curled into a satisfied smirk.

"Now _there's_ a face I could stare at all day," Tanha remarked in a sultry voice, stroking the doppelganger's perfect cheek and glancing back at Zuko meaningfully.

"Too bad it isn't yours," she remarked quietly, and then she dissipated back into the larger veil of mist.

Zuko's double reached down and plucked the mask up from the sand, and then held it up for the banished prince to take. He hesitated for a moment, never taking his eyes off his twin's, before reaching out and grabbing hold of it. With a brief smile, the doppelganger vanished into nothing. When Zuko looked down at the mask in his hands, he almost dropped it.

No longer was it the visage of the Blue Spirit, but a porcelain replica of his own unscarred face. A voice whispered from the mist.

"But it _could_ be."

* * *

"You can't force me to make a choice like that," Katara said defiantly. 

"And _I_ won't," replied Tanha simply, curling around the girl with a sorrowful expression, "but _he_ will. He won't mean to, but he is too weak. He cannot resist his own desires."

"What do you mean?" asked the water bender fretfully.

"He _wants_ so many things," explained the demon remorsefully, "so many _strong desires_ burn in his heart. It was hard to choose just one, actually."

"What have you done to Zuko?" she demanded, beginning to get angry.

"I offered him what he wants _most_," answered the demon coyly.

Katara's eyes went wide, her heart sinking as she began to run through the possibilities: his honor, his throne, his _father_…and the means to restore those things had always been…

"No," she whispered in horror, shaking her head feebly.

Suddenly, the mist began to clear, and as it did, Katara noticed another figure not far from where she stood. She didn't have to see his face through the haze to know it was Zuko, but when she tried to run toward him, tendrils of mist twined around her arms, becoming solid enough to hold her in place.

"Zuko!" she shouted desperately.

But he apparently did not, or could not hear. As the fog around him cleared even further, Katara could see from where she stood the back of a mask that he held in his hands, and he was staring at its face in deep contemplation.

"Even now, he _falters_," hissed Tanha with delight, ignoring Katara's futile attempts to break free. "All he has to do is accept what I offer, and I will have him."

Katara furiously pulled and tugged against the impossibly firm wisps that bound her. But when Zuko lifted the object he held and put it to his face, she ceased her struggles and watched in dismay as an eerie light surrounded him for a moment.

Slowly, the radiance receded and she gasped when his face, unmarked and perfect, was revealed. At first, she was confused when she saw his reaction, mystified and hesitant as he cautiously reached up to touch the place where his scar had been. But when his fingers brushed against the smooth skin, his eyes closed in a mixture of relief and elation and she began to understand the tragic significance of Tanha's temptation.

The mist writhed in triumph, letting Katara fall to the ground as it flew straight for Zuko and infused itself into his body. She stared in devastated disbelief as he raised his head and looked at her, his eyes burning with a sinister red glow. When his lips moved, it was not his voice, but Tanha's, that emanated from his mouth.

"And now...he's _mine_."

_

* * *

_

_Commercial Break_

**Author's note:** I feel _so_ evil right now. I seriously have not had this much fun since the first time I ran some of my friends through an AD&D adventure, and it involved nightmares, a haunted house, character possession, and very eerily sung lullaby. I creeped them all out so bad that, to this day (ten years later), they still freak whenever they hear "Hush little baby, don't say a word". –giggles manically-

Anyway! Here are some recommended stories (that you can find in my favorites) to hold you over until I get the next chapter up!

**Not all is as it seems **by clex: A delightfully original alternate universe (AU) version of Avatar that begins after the events of season one where the Blue Spirit teams up with Sokka and Katara to rescue Aang from Azula.

**The Great Switch** by Kes Quest: Originally written as a role-played forum collaboration, amazing hilarity and tentative romance ensues when, unbeknownst to Katara, Zuko and Aang get stuck in each other's bodies.

**The Test of Poison** by taffy0823: If you are looking for some Zuko/Katara, Spirit World, emotional drama, then this is a good place to start. It's still in progress, but is shaping up quite nicely! (scratch that, she just updated again and it's friggin' _awesome_!)

So read, enjoy, and please don't forget to leave these authors a review!


	7. Ch 7 Surrender

**Author's Note:** Wow, last chapter received the fewest reviews I've gotten for this 'episode'. Either I shocked everyone speechless or you guys really hated it. I'm going to hope it was the former rather than the latter. o.0

To those that did review: _thank you. _You guys have no idea how much inspiration and confidence i derive from your encouragement and input!

At any rate, I've added a new image to www. sasartstudios. com/ samples. html (remove all spaces in the url) for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

**And now, back to the 'show'!**

* * *

"He's mine!" cried Tanha triumphantly through Zuko's stolen body, "and soon you will be too." 

On hands and knees, Katara stared up in despair at the possessed form of Zuko looming over her. She was in such a state of shock that she barely had time to react to the blast of flames he hurled at her. Rolling to avoid the blow, she pulled a sizeable wave from the ocean and flung it right back at him, knocking him down and giving her a chance to rise to her feet.

"Never!" snarled the water bender and she gathered her element around her into a formidable octopus defense.

Tanha's puppet only smirked and launched another attack.

* * *

Momo sailed through the air with Appa close behind. So far, the search for their human companions had been fruitless. All the islands they could see were deserted, while several others were blanketed in a thick fog. 

Finally, they realized that the only place their friends could possibly be was in that dense, impassable mist. Banking on the wind, the lemur dove down then leveled, using his momentum to try and break through. He sped forward with incredible speed…and slammed into the fog with a thud.

Two surprised blinks later, he dropped to the shallow water like a stone. Still lying on his back, he shook his tiny winged fist in a feeble attempt to scold the offending barrier, but it lacked conviction in the face of his dizziness.

Appa landed next to the prone lemur. He had considered the same tactic, but after seeing his smaller counterpart's limited success, he merely glanced back and forth from the fog to Momo, then sat down and let out a doleful moan.

They would just have to wait for something to change.

* * *

Iroh kept his expression calm as Tanha taunted him, showing no more emotion than he would if he were faced with Koh himself. 

"Your nephew is too filled with self-doubt and turmoil to rule," she was saying. "He will quail at the idea of assuming so much responsibility, and where will that leave you? You'll be forced to take the throne, and the people will be less accepting of your leadership than they would be even his. They will _despise_ you and _fight_ you at every turn and your hopes for a peaceful life will be but a lost _dream_."

"I wasn't aware you were a fortuneteller as well as a fiend," Iroh remarked lightly, "it must be nice to have so many talents."

"Do you doubt my perceptions?" asked Tanha, her frustration beginning to show.

"I'm sure your perceptions are just fine," replied the retired general amicably, "it's your predictions I question. Zuko is surprisingly determined, and you should also know he has a strong desire to prove himself."

"Oh but he has other desires as well…longings unlike any I have ever seen."

At this statement, Iroh paled. Had she already been to his nephew? How could that be if she was _here_? As if reading the man's mind, Tanha laughed maliciously.

"You think I am bound by the limitations of your puny mortal forms?" she taunted. "Oh yes, I have already seen the exiled prince, as well as the others. You are not keeping me from my sport with them."

"These children are strong," he asserted firmly, as much to convince himself as the demon. "They will not succumb to you."

Tanha only laughed; the sound fading as the mist surrounding Iroh suddenly began to dissipate. When the air cleared and Iroh finally saw the sunlight dancing on the water, a voice whispered back on the wind and the old fire bender's heart sank with fear and dismay at the parting remark.

"Zuko already _has_."

* * *

Aang listened warily while Tanha presented her offer, but as she spoke, he started becoming suspicious. Somehow, none of this _felt_ right. By now, he'd figured out that this creature was spiritual and, more than ever, he wished he could draw upon the wisdom and experience of his past lives so he'd know the best way to deal with it. 

"Leave them in my care," Tanha urged, "I promise you, they will want for nothing, for I can sense their desires and provide their slightest wants."

There is was again…that word…_desire_. It rattled in Aang's brain, sending a subtle warning each time he heard it. His eyes narrowed as the gears in his mind started clicking.

"So…you can give them whatever they want?" he asked innocently.

"I exist to satisfy the deepest needs," Tanha assured him smoothly.

"Want if they want to _leave_?"

The mist hovered in stillness for a moment, as if considering the question carefully. Aang couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling he'd surprised the demon, and a glimmer of triumph rippled through him. Maybe he could beat this thing at its own game.

"Then they may leave," she finally answered.

"And if they want to come with _me_?" he pressed pointedly.

The mist roiled and swirled, seeming angry and irritated, and at that moment, the Avatar knew he had the upper hand. Tanha curled most unpleasantly around him, constricting him until he could hardly breathe.

"If you're trying to trick me, it won't work, _Avatar_," the demon hissed. "Yang Chen may have trapped me here, but you don't have her power. In fact, you can't even _access_ it!"

Aang's eyes went wide at the name Tanha mentioned; he recognized it but for the life of him could not remember from where.

"Who?" he asked before he could think better of it.

"Don't play stupid," Tanha growled, squeezing tighter. "I've been waiting a long time to exact my revenge. I can't kill you outright, and apparently, you're not going to give in to your own desires." A wicked face grinned at him from the mist as she continued ominously, "but your friends are not as strong as you are."

She released her grip on him so quickly he staggered from the unexpected liberation. He watched in confusion as the fog thinned away to nothing, lingering only long enough to hiss in his ear.

"They'll do the work for me."

He spun around to give a retort, but the mist was completely gone, and all around him he could see the sand bars peeking up from the ocean. A familiar low rumble nearby caught his attention, and turning around once more he saw a welcome sight ambling through the water.

"Appa!"

* * *

Blast after fiery blast shot across the beach at Katara, and she deftly deflected each one as, with a flick of her wrists, she guided the water to her will. She'd fought Zuko enough times before and this, she reminded herself, should be no different. 

But in truth, it _was_ different, because for the first time, she didn't _want_ this fight. In fact, she'd give almost anything to avoid it.

"This boy is as powerful a bender as you are, girl," Tanha sneered through the stolen body, "and with my added strength you don't stand a chance!"

"I've beaten Zuko before!" returned Katara angrily as she sent an attack of her own at the possessed prince, "defeating you will be no different!"

"That's where you're wrong," replied the demon coolly, halting to allow them both a moment to breathe, "You see, unlike _you_, I have no compunctions about _killing_. Nor do I care which of you has to die. The result will be the same."

"What do you mean?" asked Katara warily, not letting her defenses down. Then in a rage she demanded, "Let him go!"

"Oh I'll let him go," Tanha replied with sadistic glee, "after I've used him to kill the Avatar, I'll release him so he can see with his own eyes what he's done. He'll go mad with grief and regret; he'll never forgive himse-"

Tanha's monologue was abruptly cut off as Zuko bent over, seemingly wracked with pain. Katara gasped as he fell to his knees, fearing that perhaps the demon possessing the prince was going to kill him anyway. But she quickly realized the truth when Zuko looked up at her, his golden eyes filled with alarm and pain. He was fighting back.

"Katara" he rasped.

Hearing him speak in his own voice, the water bender dropped her from her stance in a flood of relief and hurried to where he kneeled, clutching the sides of his face with his hands. He writhed in agony as though trying to rip the skin from his skull.

"I can't...," he gasped hoarsely, obviously struggling to maintain his own senses, "…take it off…"

Katara didn't know what to do and as she stood there, frozen in panic, Zuko fell facedown into the sand and lay still. Hesitantly, she reached out for him, but pulled back when he stirred once more. She held an anxious breath as he began to push himself off the ground.

Slowly, he lifted his head, and when his eyes met hers, they were gleaming red.

* * *

Sokka blinked in astonishment and disbelief as he continued to stare at his hands. Meanwhile Tanha swirled and flowed around him, waiting eagerly for him to accept her tainted gift. 

"What do you think?" she prompted slyly, beginning to grow impatient.

"You…you…" he stammered, "you made me…"

"Powerful?" whispered the demon excitedly.

"You made me a…" his face suddenly twisted into an offended grimace as he finally found his voice. "A _fire bender_?" he howled indignantly.

The mist drew back in shock at the ungrateful outburst.

"I've given you _power_," Tanha snarled irritably. "Power to defeat your enemies, to protect the ones you _love_."

"Yeah, but…a _fire_ bender?" he asked incredulously. "I'm not even Fire Nation! I'm Water Tribe. I can't be a _fire_ bender! I mean, if you're going to give me some special power, couldn't it be the ability to make _food_ whenever I want it?" He ended his animated rant by rubbing his chin thoughtfully before adding pragmatically, "That would make this a much better dream, you know."

The mist expanded and condensed in a defeated sigh, then began to dissipate into the air with a disgruntled growl.

"Why are the _idiots_ always the hard ones?"

"Hey!" shouted the insulted warrior, but the fog was already gone.

Looking around at the now clear air, Sokka lifted his hand with a grimace, wincing as he peeked sidelong at it and experimentally punched. But when no flames shot from his fist, he heaved a sigh of relief and mumbled to himself.

"That was just _too_ weird."

* * *

Toph was too stunned to speak. The fact that her friends were right there in front of her and that she could _see_ them was more than she could process. It occurred to her that it wasn't really them, but the thought fell away, insignificant in comparison to the fact that she was _seeing_. 

Tanha waited patiently. All the girl had to do was step toward the apparition of her friends, and Toph would be hers. But the earth bender didn't move, didn't speak…didn't even blink.

"They're waiting," Tanha finally said gently.

Toph lifted a foot, and the mist tensed in expectation, waiting…so close. The girl put her foot back where it was, and her brow furrowed in distrust as she bowed her head, staring resolutely at the sand.

"What's the catch?"

"Whatever do you mean, child?" asked the demon sweetly.

"There's no such thing as something for nothing," Toph reasoned cynically, "If you give me my sight…what do I have to give up?"

"Nothing," insisted Tanha. "You'll still be the greatest earth bender in the world, but you'll finally be able to _see_."

"But not with my earth bending," she concluded soberly.

"You'll no longer _need_ to," the demon contended.

Toph nodded and slowly closed her eyes; succumbing to the darkness with which she was so intimately familiar. A single tear slid down her cheek as she clenched her tiny fists at her side and drew a shaky breath.

"Undo it," she commanded quietly.

"But think of-"

"I said _UNDO_ it!" she demanded furiously, the sand around her shuddering violently in her rage.

The mist swelled and ebbed, then drifted apart, and the dim light filtering through Toph's eyelids began to fade. Even as the sunlight warmed her skin, the deep void of sightlessness set in, and she knew the demon was gone.

Her knees buckled beneath her and Toph clutched her arms around herself in an empty and comfortless embrace. Her shoulders trembled with inconsolable sobs as she bowed her head to the sand.

* * *


	8. Ch 8 Embrace

Once in the air on Appa, Aang could see the mist shrouded areas where he knew his friends must still be trapped. But try as he might, he could not break through the thick fog. He was about to give up hope when he noticed a change in the atmosphere around one of the islands and, guiding Appa in that direction, he spotted a figure huddled in the sand. It was Toph.

Fearing she had been injured, Aang leapt from Appa's head even before the bison had landed and rushed toward her.

"Toph!"

At the sound of her name, she shakily jumped to her feet, staggering toward the sound of her friend's voice and astonishing Aang by wrapping her arms around him in a fierce, almost desperate hug.

"Please tell me you're real," she cried.

Completely taken aback by the unexpected display, but deducing that she must have been put through a terrible ordeal he attempted a comforting smile.

"Um, the pain in my ribs is real enough," he joked affectionately.

She choked out a half-laugh, half-sob, and then quickly pulled away with a sniff, wiping her eyes in an effort to compose herself. Aang regarded her with unabashed concern, wondering what cruelty the spirit could have inflicted on his usually imperturbable teacher that could reduce her to this heartbreakingly vulnerable girl before him.

"Are you okay?" asked Aang more seriously, but she only shook her head, still too overcome with emotion to trust her voice.

"Toph," he persisted, taking her hands gently, "what happened?"

She took a shuddering breath before answering, barely above a whisper, "I saw you…I saw…_all_ of you."

"But…how…?" he stammered in confusion.

"I don't know," she replied with an irritated shake of her head, "but somehow that...thing…made me _see_…the way _you_ see. And I saw you…and Katara, and Sokka, and…"

"Toph," interrupted the Avatar hesitantly, not wanting to diminish what she thought she'd experienced, but knowing it hadn't, couldn't possibly have been real. "It wasn't really us-"

"I know that!" she snapped, "but…I still _saw_…and, I know now…what you _look_ like."

"But…it could have shown you _anyone_-"

"It was _you_!" she insisted angrily, struggling against her tears, "you have this…thing…_right here_," she tapped her fingers on Aang's forehead causing him to blink in surprise.

"My tattoo…" he murmured.

"And…and Appa has one just like it," she continued ranting as though she hadn't heard. "And Zuko…he has something too only it's-" Toph stopped abruptly, her breath hitching in her throat as she touched the area on her face where she had seen it.

"His scar…."

Any doubts Aang may have had about the validity of Toph's experience were completely dispelled at this point, and he could only stare at her in heartbroken shock. She really _had_ seen them. And when it occurred to him that she'd been offered this amazing possibility and had apparently turned it down, he had no idea what to say.

"You can't tell him," she whispered, and then more firmly added, "Promise me you won't tell _any_ of them about this."

"I won't say a thing," Aang assured her earnestly, "I promise."

She nodded her acceptance of his word, and trembled as new tears threatened to spill. And Aang, not knowing what else he could do, pulled her into a tight hug and let her cry.

* * *

After the mist had cleared away, Sokka was unsure of what to do or where to go. As far as dreams went, this one was starting to get _boring_. So he wandered somewhat aimlessly around the large sand bar he occupied and searched the horizon. There were still areas of fog in the distance, and he eyed them warily wondering what would come next. 

"Sokka!"

The warrior turned at the sound of his name to find Iroh coming toward him, his robes hitched up to his knees as he made his way through the shallow, shin deep water.

"Iroh!" called Sokka pleasantly as he walked toward the older man. "What are you doing in my dream…and do you have anything to eat by chance?"

"Have you seen any of the others?" asked the retired general anxiously, ignoring Sokka's question.

"No…" answered Sokka slowly, "should I?"

"We need to find them," Iroh declared urgently, his eyes scanning the waters around them "and quickly!"

While he'd maintained all along that this bizarre experience _must_ be a dream, the truth was, deep down, Sokka knew better. And seeing the alarm and worry in the old fire bender's face, he finally began accepting the truth.

"This isn't a dream is it?" he asked fretfully.

"I'm afraid not," Iroh replied with sadness in his voice.

"Then that mist really…" stammered the warrior, staring at his hands, "_I_ actually…"

The world started spinning and Sokka could feel his consciousness slipping away. As he started to reel backward, Iroh deftly grabbed him.

"Save it for later!" he urged, "Right now, we don't have the time."

Still dazed, Sokka looked at fire bender and shook his head to clear it.

"Where do we start?" he asked feebly.

"We need to find my nephew."

Sokka nodded soberly just as a shadow from above fell across them.

* * *

Katara was beginning to tire. And she knew if she were fighting only Zuko, that he'd be wearing down as well. But with the demon possessing his body, the formidable fire bender seemed to have a limitless supply of energy. It was only a matter of time before she would be too fatigued to fight. 

But she struggled on, taking hope in the fact that, several times throughout their combat, Tanha's control over the prince had slipped. After it had happened the first few times, Katara began paying closer attention to Zuko's independent actions and, each time, his hands moved to his face as though he were trying to pull something off of it. But the demon always wrenched control away from him before he could do anything more.

"You cannot win," snarled Tanha viciously after Katara had deflected a particularly nasty attack, "you will have to _kill_ this boy if you want to save your _friends_."

At that moment, something inside Katara clicked, and the water bender's rage suddenly erupted and boiled over. She pulled forth a massive wave of water from the nearby ocean and hurled it at her opponent, forcing Zuko's body to stagger backward.

"Zuko IS my friend!" she shouted furiously, pulling up wave after wave and surging them toward the demon, screaming with rage as she unleashed each one.

"And you…"

A blast of water pushed Zuko back.

"_Can't_…."

Another slammed into him and he staggered unsteadily on his feet.

"HAVE HIM!"

This last declaration was punctuated by one more wave, the edge of which hardened into a razor sharp sickle of ice that sliced across the prince's face. A resounding crack filled the air as Zuko fell backward, and Katara only barely registered the large shards of porcelain that scattered and fell around him.

Before she could react further, an ear-splitting shriek rent the air, forcing Katara to her knees, her hands covering her head to try and block out the horrific sound. An angry red mist swirled around her carrying the howl of Tanha's agony and rage.

And then suddenly it was gone. The air was clear and all was silent.

Breathing hard from exertion, Katara cautiously lifted her head and spotted Zuko laying face down in the sand. She stumbled to her feet and tripped her way over to him, collapsing to her knees, and turning him over onto her lap.

"Zuko," she breathed frantically, terrified she had…

Her hand flew to his neck, and she almost sobbed with relief when she felt a weak pulse beneath her fingertips. He was unconscious, but still alive.

She brushed the long dark hair from his face, revealing his scar, and sighed sadly. Of all the things she had feared Zuko would be tempted with, this was the last thing she could have expected.

Noticing one of the broken halves of the mask lying close by, she picked it up, looking at the unmarred porcelain depiction of Zuko's face, and then to the scar he truly bore. It was a disconcerting discovery that something as simple as wanting to be rid of his disfigurement was his deepest desire; the only one he'd unable to refuse.

But as memories flooded her mind, they revealed the astonishing truth that had been there before her the whole time: the hurt in his voice under the catacombs when she'd mentioned his face, the disappointment in his eyes when she glanced back at him as she left, her attempt to heal him having been interrupted.

Looking back down at the flawless shard of his face, and remembering what he'd looked like only moments before while he was still possessed, she realized how beautiful he would be if he did not bear that horrible scar. And he apparently was well aware of that fact.

It made him seem so _human_ to know that, despite his princely poise and practiced indifference, in reality, he was self-conscious and shy about his appearance, and the realization shocked her as much it made her heart break.

As her finger traced the edge of the scar, she was overcome by a confusing tempest of guilt and pity, and she looked upon him for once not as Zuko her former enemy, the fire bender, the prince, but as a normal teenage boy, with normal teenage boy feelings just the same as Sokka's or Aang's.

She gently stroked a thumb across the scarlet, rutted skin as she whispered sadly.

"I wish I _could_ heal it."

* * *

Aang, Sokka, and Iroh restlessly scanned the sea below them while Toph sat silently at the back of Appa's saddle, her arms wrapped tightly around her tucked up legs. There was nothing she could do to aid in her friends' search. 

Pockets of mist were still scattered across the area, and they had no idea which of them Zuko and Katara were in. But when a resounding wail split the sky, Iroh noticed a swell of red fog far in the distance.

"There!" he shouted, pointing his finger at the disturbance.

Spotting it as well, Aang nodded grimly and turned the bison in that direction.

* * *

Katara quickly yanked her hand away the moment Zuko began to stir, and leaned back to allow him room to sit up. She didn't miss the way his hand immediately went to his face, and she bit her lip in concern when she saw his shoulders slump. 

"Zuko," she began timidly, "Are you-"

"I'm fine," he interrupted tightly.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them, and Katara took several long breaths, staring at his back as she tried to build up the courage to speak.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, "I-"

"Don't," he warned in a low growl. Then more gently, he continued, "It was my own fault. I should have known better than…" He didn't finish the statement, his voice closing off as he swallowed back his emotions.

Before anything else could be said, a familiar groan drifted down from the sky, and the next thing they knew, Appa had landed a short distance away. Aang was on the ground in an instant with Iroh and Sokka close behind.

Iroh was at his nephew's side faster than anyone could have expected, and he was alternately trying to help the boy up and hug him at the same time.

"Stop fussing over me, Uncle," Zuko snapped in response to the older man's affections, and he pushed himself away and started walking toward Appa.

Meanwhile, Sokka and Aang had helped Katara to her feet, neither of them noticing the broken object she held. But when Iroh turned sadly away from his troubled nephew, his eyes fell upon it and, with a small gasp of dismay, he started to piece together what had happened.

Katara was staring forlornly at the prince as he stalked away from the group, and Aang caught sight of the expression on her face. Something about it troubled him, and his gaze wandered from her to the exiled fire bender with a thoughtful frown. In the back of his mind, he could hear Guru Pathik's words haunting him like a prophecy.

_Your burden is to restore balance to the world, and hers…is to heal it. Just as you must be free of attachment in order to accomplish your tasks, so too must she be free to follow her own heart in order to achieve hers._

For the first time, Aang began to have a sinking feeling about where that might eventually lead her.

* * *

Nothing was said as they all climbed back into the saddle and took to the air, and it remained quiet for what seemed like hours before Sokka finally broke the silence. 

"So what was that thing anyway?" he asked, referring to the strange mist that had tormented them.

"That was Tanha," Iroh answered gravely. "A spirit that preys on men's desires and corrupts them for her own personal amusement. If one succumbs to her temptations, she takes possession of them and uses them to wreck havoc in the physical realm, where she would otherwise have no power."

Katara threw an anxious glance at Zuko, who in turn bowed his head, unable to look at anyone. Iroh caught the exchange from the corner of his eye, and all of his suspicions were confirmed.

"It was always thought she was just a myth," the Dragon of the West continued. "According to legend, she was defeated by the Avatar centuries ago."

"Avatar Yang Chen!" exclaimed Aang suddenly.

"I believe so," confirmed the old general.

"But she wasn't defeated," the Avatar concluded somberly, "only trapped in the shallows where there was no one for her to tempt…"

Looking down at the black hulls resting beneath the water, Sokka shook his head.

"She must have had a field day when all these ships came," he remarked absently.

"Do you think she's gone?" asked Katara softly.

"It's hard to say," Iroh answered uncomfortably, "but I would guess that she is still out there. Spirits are not easily destroyed unless they take physical form."

No one had anything to say after that, and the silence descended once more as each of them retreated into their own thoughts. Iroh's gaze wandered over each of the children in turn, noting how deeply affected they were by what they had experienced, and knowing that there was no comfort that could be offered to any of them.

He then turned his eyes northward, to the distant islands still unseen on the horizon where their greatest challenge still awaited them.

**

* * *

**

_fin_

**Author's note:** I got the impression from one of the reviewers that my use of the word 'demon' in this story may have caused some confusion. For the record, a demon, _by definition_, is nothing more than a "malevolent spirit," and should not be confused with the Judeo-Christian concept of a 'devil'.

That being said, Tanha is actually based on a real Tibetan myth (Tibetan culture, of course, being the inspiration behind the Air Nomad society). According to legend, Tanha is one of the aspects (or daughters depending on the specific translation) of Mara, a malevolent spirit (or _demon_) of temptation whose testing of Buddha is supposedly the foundation of the entire Buddhist faith. Tanha means 'thirst' and is associated with earthly desire in all its forms. It is, in fact, the eighth link in the Twelve Nidanas of Dependent Origination, and the Second of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhist teachings (yes, people, I did my homework on this!).

For my story, I decided to develop this concept/legend into an actual character/being. I felt very confident in doing this because _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ has consistently displayed a strong spiritual thread throughout the entire series, most specifically in the fact that Aang (the Avatar) serves as a bridge between the spiritual and physical realms of existence. Supernatural beings such as Koh, Hei Bei, Tui and La, and Wan Shi Tong, as well as mysterious places such as The Spirit World, the Swamp, and the Library have all been featured as significant components to the Avatar Universe in general and of Aang's journey specifically.

This episode has been an absolute blast to write, as I really got to play with a creepier, more psychological approach to character development in much the same tradition as 'The Swamp' and 'The Guru'. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.


	9. Epilogue

**Author's note:** Since some of my reviewers were still a little puzzled about Tanha, I decided to post this epilogue, which should (hopefully) clear up some the confusion. I don't intend to make a habit of additional chapters like this, but considering I probably won't be touching on Tanha too much in later 'episodes', I decided to give you all some of the background I created for this rather unusual original character of mine.

And since updates consisting of only author's notes are prohibited, I worked it into a 'flashback' scene. Enjoy!

_**

* * *

**_

**_Epilogue_**

Entry: Tanha the Thirst Giver

Tanha's true origins are unknown, but most legends surrounding this malicious spirit are derived from oral traditions handed down through the Air Nomad culture. A number of ancient texts relate her to Koh (also known as 'The Face Stealer') while others insist she is more closely linked to the lesser spirits known as Akuma (often called the 'Shadows of Doubt') who inhabit the Spirit World and prey on mortals foolish enough to visit.

Many experts lean toward the Akuma theory, as both they and she posses a similar manifestation: Akuma being made mostly of shadows, and Tanha being described as a flowing, semi-corporeal mist.

Regardless of her origins, most stories agree that she crossed over into the physical realm centuries ago after an argument with her kin. While the details of their conflict are uncertain, scholars surmise that it had something to do with the power of suggestion and its affect on mortals.

Tanha is regarded as a very dangerous spirit, with an ability to enhance and corrupt men's desires that has earned her the nickname 'Thirst Giver'. She tempts people with their innermost longings, usually ones so deeply rooted that even the victim is not fully aware of them, and often goes so far as to grant them what they desire most in order to make it more difficult to refuse.

These 'gifts' are never permanent however since, once accepted (in an emotional sense, not necessarily a physical one), the demon takes control of the victim. Persons under Tanha's influence can only be freed by destroying the object of desire by which they were ensnared. This can be especially disconcerting for the possessed if said object is another person (a common temptation). Some believe that destruction of the lure may also physically injure Tanha, but this is merely speculation.

Legends persist that the Avatar defeated the demon centuries ago, but substantial evidence of this claim is elusive at best. All that is known is that no reports of Tanha's presence or influence in the physical world have been recorded in over 500 years.

* * *

Iroh closed the book and stretched languidly with a wide yawn, then glanced from the empty teapot to the dark window of the ship's galley. Deciding he'd done enough reading for one night, he tucked the tome under his arm and headed out to get some fresh air before bed. 

As he stepped onto the main deck, he spotted a lone figure at the prow, and judging by the height of the person (too short to be a member of the crew), as well as the half a head of white gauze gleaming in the moonlight, he realized that it could only be his nephew.

"It's good to see you out and about, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as casually as he could manage, coming up alongside him.

Zuko said nothing, but merely kept his un-bandaged eye focused on the horizon.

"I take you are finally getting over your seasickness," the old man continued.

"The ship's doctor said looking at the water would help," replied Zuko quietly, "and now that I can…it does a little."

Iroh merely nodded, and a long silence fell between them. The past several weeks had taken a heavy toll on both of them, and this was the first time Iroh had had anything close to a conversation with his once energetic nephew.

"We should be arriving in Bìmíng sometime tomorrow," remarked Iroh, trying to coax some small reaction from the prince. "I thought perhaps Ru might know of something to help speed the healing process."

"Ru can't _see_ anymore, Uncle," Zuko reminded him bitterly.

"True, but that doesn't make him any less wise."

When he got no response, Iroh let out a sad sigh.

"You should get some rest, Prince Zuko."

"I tried…I couldn't sleep."

"Well, you are welcome to borrow my book," Iroh offered good-naturedly, "a little reading might relax you."

Zuko took the book his uncle held up and looked at it skeptically as he read the title.

"_The Compressive Guide to Spiritual Beings_?"

He glanced back up at Iroh, and the retired general caught the faintest glimmer of optimism on Zuko's face before the boy returned his gaze thoughtfully to the book.

"Do you think there would be anything in here that will help me find the Avatar?" he asked hopefully.

"It's not likely," replied Iroh sadly.

The brief flicker of buoyancy faded as suddenly as it had appeared, and Zuko handed the book back.

"Then I'm not interested," he stated coolly.

And without another word, he walked away.

**

* * *

Author's note:** And there you have it! Now you know why Iroh knew about Tanha and Zuko did not, as well as how Katara was able to free Zuko from the demon's clutches. There is also a bonus tidbit worked into the beginning of the entry for those of you clever enough to spot it. 

I'd also like to make it clear that I did my best to come up with desires for each character that were original and unexpected. Of all of them, Katara's was the hardest, and in the end, I honestly couldn't think of a realistic desire that would sufficiently tempt her.

So I opted to have Tanha attempt to turn Katara's own noble desire to preserve life against her by forcing her to kill in order to protect her friends. Unfortunately, (for Tanha) the demon wasn't counting on Katara wanting to save Zuko too since she was still struggling to accept and trust him.

As for poor Zuko being the only one to succumb to Tanha's temptation, I hedged on that for quite some time. But in the end, I realized that Zuko only seems to learn the important lessons the hard way, and that this one should be no different. And truthfully, I don't think I would be able to take him to the next step in his developing relationships with the other members of the gang without putting him through this setback. Suffice to say, it's _very_ important to the overall plot of this series.


End file.
